The rural village milk system

SESSION 3 . Microbiological hazards and control measures

Abstract

Key problems faced by a group of small milk producers in developing countries leaving in remote areas are high business start-up costs and a lack of appropriately technologies and sized equipment.

For milk collection the bottleneck is the economical aspect which limits the adoption of the more developed dairy infrastructure. The density of milk collected (Litres of milk collected by kilometres) is very low, the total quantity of milk to be refrigerated is also low and the economical capacity used for a refrigerated tank is rarely obtained.

Conventional dairy equipment for pasteurizing milk is usually high capacity, very expensive and required very well trained personal. The imported packaging material represents also an important investment. The traditional way to prolong the shelf life of the raw milk for a group of farmers is to heat the milk in open boilers, to refrigerate it at the ambient temperature and to sell it in the loose form.

According to FAO and the World Bank 30% of the milk produced in West Africa is lost or under valuated.

Since 1998 the Dairy Development Team of FAO is promoting the concept of the “Village Milk System” with the objective to promote an economical and integrated milk processing chain which is accessible to a group or an association or a cooperative of small milk producers. The “system” is an association of 2 news appropriate technologies related to the majors’ constraints mentioned above: The milk collection and the milk pasteurization and packaging.

In 1993, 80 countries requested FAO to promote the alternative method for milk collection called the Lactoperoxidase system being accepted by the codex alimentarius. This programme was initiated in 1995 with the support of the Swedish University, IDF and WHO. In 1998, in collaboration with the Government of Kenya and the FAO Dairy Training Programme for the small scale dairy project, a new low cost, simple pasteurising and packaging process was adapted at the Naivasha Dairy Training Institute.

Five years later the technical and economical validation of the “village milk system” in more than 10 countries and the continual requests from developing countries for this kind of assistance is a demonstration that this new generation of milk processing chain is one of the suitable solution for rural milk producer’s association. The key benefits of the Village Milk System are the improvement of the milk keeping quality, the reduction of milk losses and the increased family income.

HYGIENE, MILK QUALITY AND PAYMENT SCHEMES FOR SMALL MILK PROCESSING UNITS.

In many developing countries milk continues to be a luxury food for the majority of the urban population. According to FAO statistics (FAOSTAT) milk consumption in developing countries is 120 gr. per day compared to 540 gr. in the developed world. FAO and WHO have recommended that the normal level of consumption should be around 280 gr. Given the continuing trend towards urbanisation it is envisaged that over next 10 years milk consumption in developing countries will increase compared with a levelling off of consumption in developed countries.

Of the five basic commodities regularly monitored by FAO (cereals, meat, dairy products, sugar and oils) dairy imports to developing countries increased in value by 43% between 1998 and 2001. International dairy products prices strengthened during the second half of 2003 due to limited export supplies and sustained import demand. During the same year, butter and cheese prices have increased more than that of milk powder. At the same time, EU export subsidies on milk powder and butter were reduced by around 4 percent. As a result of the rising international prices, the domestic dairy industries in developing countries with relatively open markets have been less subject to competition from subsidized low-priced dairy products import. It is expected that in developing countries the overall growth in milk production will continue. The challenge is that over 80 percent of milk produced in developing countries, which represents more than 200 billion litres of milk per year, is handled by informal market traders.

The objective of the FAO dairy programme is to assist small milk producers to have access to a regular outlet for their milk and thereby a regular income for the farm household and rural community. This assistance, often in the form of the establishment of a model small-scale milk collection and processing unit, demonstrates how the rural poor can generate a regular income from their small daily milk production. This rural activity generates sustainable rural employment. An FAO/ILRI study done in 2003 in Africa and Asia showed that one full-time off farm job is created for each 20-40 litres of pasteurised milk sold to urban consumers (FAO, 2004). Most of the beneficiaries are women.

Given these constraints, the three main activities geared to the achievement of the above objective are:

• technology transfer by the establishment of a model which can be duplicated by other groups of small milk producers
• training - which is the core activity to provide
  the essential technical and organisational skills
• an information system which is implemented through publications, internet WebPages, electronic conferences and workshops

For developing countries the establishment of an efficient, hygienic and economic milk chain from producers to consumers is a serious challenge. Major constraints include: -

Milk collection has always been the major bottleneck for the many big milk plants, particularly those established in the 1970’s and 80’s. The factors which affect a viable milk collection system are the small amount of milk per farm, the quality of the milk at the farm level, the distance from the farms to the processors, and the difficulties in establishing the cooling infrastructure both at the farm and during transport.

According to the World Bank it is estimated that in W. Africa, 30% of the milk produced is lost due to the constraints mentioned above. Another important consideration is that 80% of the milk produced in Africa is collected, transported and sold by the so-called “parallel/ informal market”, the organisation of which is in the hands of middlemen. According to Codex Alimentarius, milk should be cooled to 40C within 2 hours of milking. In rural areas of developing countries this would require electricity and the establishment of a milk cooling centre very close to the milk producers. To produce safe and hygienic milk products good quality milk is essential. The key safety factor in milk processing is pasteurization. Modern milk processing technology requires significant investment, well trained dairy technologists and sophisticated packaging. All these elements make the processing of small quantities of milk very expensive with a high risk on the return of investment. According to the French Livestock Development Institute a milk cooling tank is at its maximum economical utilisation when it is used at minimum 70% of its nominal capacity during one year.

To make informed decisions, valid and appropriate information is required at all levels from policy to farm level. The Dairy Development Team of FAO has significant experience in sustainable small-scale milk production and processing and has already published a wealth of information on the subject both as web-based and, perhaps more importantly for developing countries, printed materials such as the recently produced Milk Producers Group Resource Book.

Since 1998 the Dairy Development Team of FAO has developed a model which addresses these constraints in the establishment of an economical and hygienic integrated milk chain which can benefit small milk producers and consumers. The “Village Milk System” is a model which can reduce considerably the milk collection cost, the milk processing cost, the initial investment outlay and which can be handled by a group of farmers themselves with appropriate training. It therefore enables more consumers to have access to hygienic dairy products at an affordable price as compared with imported dairy products. The system is designed to assist small milk producers groups to organise themselves to participate in the complete milk chain from the improvement of the milk hygiene quality at the farm, the milk collection system, the processing of milk and the distribution and marketing of good quality dairy products. The core of the Village Milk System is an association of two appropriate and practical technologies related to the major constraints, which are milk collection and milk pasteurisation and packaging.

For milk collection in remote rural areas the technology applied is the Lactoperoxidase system (LP-s) which was approved by the Codex Alimentarius in 1991. Since 1995 FAO has initiated a special programme called the Global Lactoperoxidase Programme (GLP) for 80 developing countries which have requested to FAO to be  informed about this relevant and appropriate technology for dairy development in areas without dairy infrastructure. To date more than 35 countries have benefited from the technical assistance of the GLP in the demonstration and the organisation of the milk collection system using the LP-s. The programme starts with training on the improvement of the hygienic milk handling at the farm. At the milk collection point which represents the first level of the milk producer organisation or association the milk is tested for quality with the portable laboratory designed by FAO. The volume of milk is measured and recorded for each producer and transferred into a 50 litres milk can where it is treated with the LP-s. The cost for the treatment should not exceed US$ 0.01 per litre of milk. This treatment, which is bacteriostatic for the natural micro flora of the milk but also has a bactericidal effect on some pathogens, stops the proliferation of bacteria in the milk for 6 to 8 hours at ambient temperatures. This method enables the transportation of raw milk over long distances and also enables the overnight storage of evening milk for delivery the following day. The milk is transported to the rural milk processing unit which includes an in-pouch milk pasteurization unit.

The Village Milk System (VMS) is the combination of the LP-s and the in-pouch pasteurisation unit. In 1998 the Dairy Development Team decided to test a new small-scale in-pouch milk processing unit called the ‘MILK-PRO’ which was developed in South Africa for on-farm milk processing. This equipment was first tested in the Naivasha Dairy Training Institute in Kenya (FAO, 2000). Some modifications were made to improve the flexibility of adaptation of the equipment to local conditions. The total investment required is around US$ 12,000 for a daily capacity of 900 litres. The processing cost is also very low compared with an industrial pasteurisation system which requires cooling down the milk to 4°C before pasteurisation. With the VMS the raw milk
arriving at 35°C is immediately pasteurised which significantly reduces energy costs. The milk is first packed in plastic sachets, sealed, pasteurised and chilled thereby avoiding any post-pasteurisation contamination. Use of cheap packaging and makes the product more affordable for lower income consumers. The VMS is being tested in more than 10 countries and will be technically and economically evaluated in 2004 and 2005. A comprehensive manual on the establishment of the Village Milk System will then be published for the benefit of small groups of milk producers living in remote areas to facilitate their access to urban markets with safe, hygienic dairy products.

REFERENCES:

FAOSTAT
Employment generation through small-scale dairy marketing and processing

FAO Animal Production and Health Paper No. 158, FAO, Rome 2004

French Livestock Development Institute

Milk Producers Group Resource Book

The FAO Milk and Dairy Products Website

The village milk system - an alternative, low-cost milk collection and in-pouch pasteurising system. Report of the FAO Email conference on small-scale milk collection and processing in developing countries, July 2000

IDF/FAO international symposium on dairy safety and hygiene Cape Town, March 2–5, 2004, South Africa